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Errors and
Mistranslations in the KJV
Written by: Richard Nickels Why Are There
Errors in the King James Version? You have
probably heard the joke about the bigoted Protestant fundamentalist who said,
"If the King James Version was good enough for the apostles, it is good
enough for me!" People sometimes forget that the KJV was published in 1611
A.D. For centuries
prior to 1611, Latin was the only scholarly language in Europe. The Latin
Vulgate translation of Jerome, based upon a[n] . . . Alexandrian Text, was the
"official" text of the powerful Roman Catholic Church. Protestant
translators sometimes did not have access to all of the Received Greek Official
Text, and being familiar with the Vulgate, they sometimes put words into their
translations based upon the Latin which were never there in the original Greek.
Schaff points out that in about 80 places in the New Testament, the KJV adopts
Latin readings not found in the Greek. Erasmus had a corrupt, incomplete text
of Revelation to work from, and hence this book has many errors in the KJV. The King James
translators did a marvelous job with the materials they had. . . . Translation
Errors Here is a
partial listing of King James Version translation errors: Genesis 1:2 should read "And the earth
became without form . . . ." The word translated "was" is hayah,
and denotes a condition different than a former condition, as in Genesis
19:26. Genesis 10:9 should read " . . . Nimrod the
mighty hunter in place of [in opposition to] the LORD." The word
"before" is incorrect and gives the connotation that Nimrod was a
good guy, which is false. Leviticus 16:8,
10, 26 in the KJV is
"scapegoat" which today has the connotation of someone who is
unjustly blamed for other's sins. The Hebrew is Azazel, which means
"one removed or separated." The Azazel goal represents Satan, who is
no scapegoat. He is guilty of his part in our sins. Deuteronomy
24:1, "then
let him" should be "and he." As the Savior explained in Matthew
19, Moses did not command divorcement. This statute is regulating the
permission of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts. II Kings 2:23, should be "young men",
not "little children." Isaiah 65:17 should be "I am creating [am
about to create] new heavens and new earth . . . ." Ezekiel 20:25 should read "Wherefore I
permitted them, or gave them over to, [false] statutes that are not good, and
judgments whereby they should not live." God's laws are good, perfect and
right. This verse shows that since Israel rejected God's laws, He allowed them
to hurt themselves by following false man made customs and laws. Daniel 8:14 is correct in the margin, which
substitutes "evening morning" for "days." Too bad William
Miller didn't realize this. Malachi 4:6 should read " . . . lest I
come and smite the earth with utter destruction. Matthew 5:48 should be "Become ye therefore
perfect" rather than "be ye therefore perfect."
"Perfect" here means "spiritually mature." Sanctification
is a process of overcoming with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 24:22 needs an additional word to clarify
the meaning. It should say "there should no flesh be saved alive."
Matthew 27:49 omits text which was in the
original. Moffatt correctly adds it, while the RSV puts it in a footnote:
"And another took a spear and pierced His side, and out came water and
blood." The Savior's death came when a soldier pierced His side,
Revelation 1:7. Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the sabbath as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . . ." should be
translated literally, "Now late on Sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward
the first day of the week . . . ." The Sabbath does not end at dawn but at
dusk. Luke 2:14 should say, "Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace among men of God's good pleasure or
choosing." That is, there will be peace on earth among men who have God's
good will in their hearts. Luke 14:26 has the unfortunate translation of
the Greek word miseo, Strong's #3404, as "hate", when it
should be rendered "love less by comparison." We are not to hate our
parents and family! John 1:31, 33 should say "baptize" or
"baptizing IN water" not with water. Pouring or sprinkling
with water is not the scriptural method of baptism, but only thorough immersion
in water. John 1:17 is another instance of a poor
preposition. "By" should be "through": "For the law
was given by [through] Moses . . . ." Moses did not proclaim his law, but
God's Law. John 13:2 should be "And during
supper" (RSV) rather than "And supper being ended" (KJV). Acts 12:4 has the inaccurate word
"Easter" which should be rendered "Passover." The Greek
word is pascha which is translated correctly as Passover in
Matthew 26:2, etc. I Corinthians
1:18 should be:
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness;
but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God", rather
than "perish" and "are saved." Likewise, II
Thessalonians 2:10 should be "are perishing" rather than
"perish." I Corinthians
15:29 should be:
"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the hope of the
dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the hope
of the dead?" II Corinthians
6:2 should be
"a day of salvation", instead of "the day of
salvation." This is a quote from Isaiah 49:8, which is correct. The
day of salvation is not the same for each individual. The firstfruits have
their day of salvation during this life. The rest in the second resurrection. I Timothy 4:8 should say, "For bodily
exercise profiteth for a little time: but godliness in profitable unto
all things . . . ." I Timothy 6:10 should be, "For the love of
money is a [not the] root of all evil . . . ." Hebrews 4:8 should be "Joshua" rather
than "Jesus", although these two words are Hebrew and Greek
equivalents. Hebrews 4:9 should read, "There remaineth
therefore a keeping of a sabbath to the people of God." Hebrews 9:28 is out of proper order in the King
James. It should be: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them without sin that look for him shall he appear the second time
unto salvation." I John 5:7-8 contains additional text which was
added to the original. "For there are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there
are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the
blood: and these three agree in one." The italicized text was added to the
original manuscripts. Most modern translations agree that this was an
uninspired addition to the Latin Vulgate to support the unscriptural trinity
doctrine. Revelation 14:4 should be "a
firstfruits" Revelation
20:4-5 in the KJV is
a little confusing until you realize that the sentence "This is the first
resurrection. Revelation
20:10, "And the
devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where
the beast and the false prophet are [correction: should be 'were cast' because
the beast and false prophet were mortal human beings who were burned up in the
lake of fire 1,000 years previous to this time, Revelation 19:20], and shall be
tormented day and night for ever and ever." The point is that Satan will
be cast into the same lake of fire into which the beast and false
prophet were cast a thousand years previously. Revelation 22:2
should be "health" rather than "healing." Italics:
Sometimes Helpful, Sometimes Wrong No language can
be translated word for word into another language. Hebrew and Greek idioms
often do not come through clearly into literal English. Thus, beginning in 1560
with the Geneva Bible, translators initiated the practice of adding italicized
clarifying words to make the original language more plain. The fifty-four King
James translators did the same. Often, the added italicized words do help make
the meaning clearer. At other times, the translators through their doctrinal
misunderstandings added errors instead. In Psalms
81:4, "was" is totally uncalled for and not in the
original Hebrew. New Moons are still a statute of God. We have shown
how in Revelation 20:10 that the italicized "are" is incorrect
and that "were cast" in italics would have been more
appropriate. Another instance is John 8:28 where Jesus said (KJV),
"I am he." The "he" is in italics and was not
actually spoken by Jesus, completely obscuring the fact the Jesus was claiming
to be the great "I AM" of the Old Testament, John 8:58
and Exodus 3:14. In Luke
3:23-38, the italicized words "the son" are not in the
original Greek. Actually, Luke gives the fleshly descent of the Savior through
Mary, while Matthew gives the legal descent through Joseph. Matthew 24:24 should not have the italicized
words "it were". It IS possible for the elect to be
deceived. We need to be on guard! Romans 1:7 incorrectly has the italicized
words "to be." The fact is, Christians are now saints. I Corinthians
7:19 needs some
italicized words to make the meaning clear. It should say: "Circumcision
is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but [the important thing is] the
keeping of the commandments of God." Colossians
2:16-17 can be
properly understood only if the KJV italicized word "is" in
verse 17 is left out, as it should be. The message of these verses is: don't
let men judge you as doing wrong when you observe the holy days, new moons and
sabbaths; let the body of Christ (the Church) do the judging. I Timothy 3:11 has "their" in
italics, which is not implied in the original. II Peter 2:5 should not have "person, a."
Noah was the eighth preacher of righteousness. I John 2:23 has "[but] he that
acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also" in italics. This is an
addition based upon the Latin text and not in the original Greek. Punctuation
Problems Luke 23:43 has been erroneously used by some
to claim that Jesus went straight to heaven at His death. The original Greek
did not have punctuation marks as we do today. The KJV states, "And Jesus
said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in
paradise." The comma should not be after "thee", but
"day." The believing malefactor would be with Christ in the
paradise of the redeemed when he was resurrected far into the future. Mark 16:9 does not say that Jesus was
resurrected Sunday morning. There is a missing implied comma between "risen"
and "early" and there should be no comma after week as the KJV
has it: "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he
appeared first to Mary Magdalene . . . ." Thus, it should say, "Now
when Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene . . . ." Word
Differences Another thing
to keep in mind is the fact that the 1611 A.D. King James English is somewhat
different than today's English language. The meaning of certain words has
changed, and/or the King James sometimes uses words not familiar to most people
today in their common speech. In addition, certain idioms in the original
Hebrew and Greek are a little difficult to understand today. The Oxford Wide
Margin KJV has excellent marginal references which often explain the
correct meanings. Here is a partial listing of changed word meanings: King James
Phrase (on top) Modern
English (on
bottom) Abraham's bosom "the
Kingdom of God" in which the redeemed will have an intimate relationship
with father Abraham in sharing the eternal inheritance of the earth. adoption "sonship",
as in Romans 8:23, 9:4, Ephesians 1:5. affections "passions",
as in Galatians 5:24, "mind" as in Colossians 3:2. afflict soul "fast"
as in Leviticus 23:27, 32 (Psalms 35:13). beguile "judge
against you", as in Colossians 2:18. betimes "early",
as in Proverbs 13:24. blains "blisters",
as in Exodus 9:9. bosom, in his "have
an intimate relationship with", as in II Samuel 12:3, 8, John 1:18. bruit "report,
rumor", as in Jeremiah 10:22, Nahum 3:19. charity "spiritual
love", as in I Corinthians 13. clean heart "right
attitude", as in Psalms 51:10, 73:1. communicate "share",
as in Hebrews 13:16. communications "associations,
companionships" conversation "conduct",
as in Philippians 2:27, I Peter 3:1, "citizenship" as in Philippians
3:20. convince "convict",
as in Titus 1:9, James 2:9. corn "grain",
as in Leviticus 23:14, Deuteronomy 23:25. cover his feet "go
to the toilet", as in I Samuel 24:3. creature "creation",
as in Romans 8:20-21, II Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15. cross "stake"
damned "judged",
as in Mark 16:16. devils "demons",
as in I Timothy 4:1. dissimulation "hypocrisy",
as in Galatians 2:13. divers "different"
places, persons or things as in Matthew 24:7 and Acts 19:9, Hebrews 1:1,
James 1:2. dividing "expounding,
dissecting", as in II Timothy 2:15. doting "sick",
as in I Timothy 6:4. due benevolence
"sexual
dues", as in I Corinthians 7:3. ensamples "examples,
types", as in I Corinthians 10:11. faint "give
up" as in Luke 18:1, Galatians 6:9. froward "evil,
wrong", as in Proverbs 2:12. gay "expensive,
costly", as in James 2:3. Ghost "Holy
Ghost" should be rendered "Holy Spirit." glass "mirror",
as in I Corinthians 13:12, James 1:23. hardness "blindness"
a s in Mark 3:5. he In
reference to the Holy Spirit, the KJV usage of "he" rather than
"it" implies the false notion of the trinity. The Holy Spirit is not
a separate person, but the mind of God the Father and God the Son. See John
14:16, 17, 26 and 16:7-8, 13-15. heart "attitude
of mind", as in Jeremiah 17:9. hell There
are three Greek words rendered "hell" in the New Testament: gehenna,
hades (equivalent of Hebrew sheol used in the Old Testament), and tartaroo.
Gehenna is the lake of fire, hades is the grave and tartaroo is
the abyss, the place of restraint for Satan. For English speaking people during
the time of King James, "hell" [hades] was a cellar to store
potatoes, not a lake of burning brimstone. In Acts 2:27,
"hell" is hades, meaning the grave, while in Matthew 10: 28
and Mark 9:43-48 "hell" means the lake of fire. The only place
tartaroo is used is in II Peter 2:4. husbandman "farmer,
rancher", as in James 5:7. iniquity "lawlessness" jealous "zealous",
as in II Corinthians 11:2. knew "had
sexual relations with", as in Genesis 4:1. leasing "lying",
as in Psalms 4:2, 5:6. letteth "restrains",
as in II Thessalonians 2:7. lusteth after "earnestly
desires" as in Deuteronomy 14:26. mansions "offices"
as in John 14:2. meat offering "meal
offering", as in Leviticus 23:13, etc. meet "fitting,
proper", Matthew 3:8, Genesis 2:18. mocked "deceived",
as in Galatians 6:7. morning stars "angels",
as in Job 38:7. nether "lower",
as in Deuteronomy 24:6. outlandish "foreign",
as in Nehemiah 13:26. perfect "spiritually
mature", as in II Timothy 3:17, or "upright or sincere"
as in Genesis 17:1. perform "finish",
as in Philippians 1:6. him that
"pisseth against the wall" "males",
as in II Kings 9:8, etc. press, the "the
crowd", as in Luke 19:3. prevent "precede",
Psalms 88:13, I Thessalonians 4:15. prophesy "inspired
preaching", as in I Corinthians 14. quicken "make
alive", as in Romans 8:11. quit "keep
on", as in I Corinthians 16:13. rain "teach",
as in Hosea 10:12, Isaiah 2:3. rentest "distort",
as in Jeremiah 4:30. requite "offer
support for", as in I Timothy 5:4. rereward rear
guard" as in I Samuel 29:2. rudiments "elements",
as in Colossians 2:8. those who
"seemed to be somewhat" "boasters",
as in Galatians 2:6. servant "slave",
as in Philippians 2:7. simple "harmless",
as in Romans 16:19. sincerity "with
incorruption" slept with his
fathers "died",
as in II Kings 13:9, II Chronicles 16:12. sons of God "angels",
as in Job 1:6. spiritual
wickedness
"wicked
spirits", as in Ephesians 6:12. sprinkle "astonish,
startle", as in Isaiah 52:15. stranger "newcomer,
new convert", as in Deuteronomy 14:29. suffer "let,
allow, permit" as in Mark 10:14, Revelation 11:9. tarry "wait",
as in Luke 24:49, I Corinthians 16:8, which is explained in Acts 1:4.
tempted "tried
or tested", as in I Corinthians 10:13, James 1:13. tenor "intent
or purpose", as in Exodus 34:27. tongues "foreign
languages", Mark 16:17, I Corinthians 14. virtue "power"
as in Mark 5:30. visage "appearance" Unjustified
Additions to the KJV These additions
should be omitted from the KJV: Matthew 27:35 "that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments
among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots." This verse appears
properly in John 19:24. John 8:9-10 Delete:
"being convicted by their own conscience . . . unto the last . . . alone .
. . and saw none but the woman . . . those thine accusers." The
Greek properly reads: "But when they heard it, they went away, one by one,
beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left with the woman being before him.
Jesus lifted himself up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one
condemned you?'" Acts 9:5-6 "it
is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished
said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him . . .
." Acts 10:6 "he
shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do" Acts 10:21 "which
were sent unto him from Cornelius" Acts 21:8 "that
were of Paul's company" Romans 13:9 "Thou
shalt not bear false witness" Romans 16:20 "Amen"
Colossians 1:14 "through
his blood" Hebrews 2:7 "and
didst set him over the works of thy hands" Hebrews 11:13 "and
were persuaded of them and embraced them" Hebrews 12:20 "or
with a dart shot through" I John 2:23 "(but)
he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also" is placed in
italics in the KJV. The Greek Text omits this portion entirely. I John 5:7-8 "in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these thee are one. And
there are three that bear witness in earth" As previously explained, this
is not part of the original Greek text. Revelation 1:8 "the
beginning and the ending" Revelation 1:11 "I
am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and . . . which are in Asia" Revelation 1:20 "which
thou sawest" Revelation 2:17 "to
eat of" Revelation 5:4 "and
to read" Revelation 5:14 "four
and twenty . . . him that lives forever and ever" Revelation 11:1 "and
the angel stood" Revelation
12:12 "the
inhabiters of" Revelation 14:5 "before
the throne of God" Revelation 15:2 "over
his mark" Revelation 16:7 "another
out of" Revelation
16:14 "of
the earth and" Revelation 21:3 "and
be their God" Misplaced
Verses in the KJV In Matthew
23:13-14, the proper order is: "But woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make
long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against
men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering
to go in." Romans 16:25-27 belongs after Romans 14:23, not at
the end of the book. Items Wrongly
Substituted or Left Out of the KJV, Matthew 27:49 "And
another took a spear and pierced his side and out came water and blood." [The
Orthodox Church says this was part of the Greek Text until mistakenly deleted
in 511 A.D.] Luke 9:50 ".
. . for his is not against you." This
verse should read: "And Jesus said to him, Forbid him not, for he is not against
you. For whoever is not against you is for you." Luke 10:22 "And
having turned to the disciples, he said:" John 1:28 "Bethany"
instead of "Bethabara", which was a corrupt Egyptian reading. Acts 9:19 Should
read, "Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at the
time in Damascus." Acts 20:28 Should
read, " . . . the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church
of the Lord and God, which He purchased with His own blood." Philippians 3:3 Should
be "serve in (the) Spirit of God" rather than "serve God in the
spirit." Colossians 1:6 Should
have added "and is growing" after "bringeth forth fruits." Colossians 2:13
Should
read, "And you--being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your
flesh--you hath He quickened together with him, having forgiven us all the
trespasses . . . " I Thess. 5:21 Should
read, "Despise not prophesyings, but prove all things . . . ."
II Timothy 2:19 "of
(the) Lord" rather than "of Christ." Hebrews 8:8 "To
them", not "with them." Hebrews 13:9 "Carried
away", not "carried about." James 5:12 Should
be "into hypocrisy" instead of "under judgment." I Peter 2:2 End
of verse should have added: "unto salvation." Revelation 2:21 Should
be " . . . and she wills not to repent of her fornication. Revelation 6:12
Should
be " . . . and the whole moon became blood . . . ." Revelation 8:7 Should
be " . . . and the third part of the land was burnt up, and the
third part of the trees . . . ." Revelation 8:13 "eagle"
rather than "angel." Revelation
11:18 "nations"
instead of "dead." Revelation 12:6 Should
read, "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has there a
place prepared of God . . . ." Revelation 13:5 Should
read, " . . . and power was given it to make war forty-two months .
. . ." Revelation 14:1 Should
read, "having His name and the name of His Father written on their
foreheads . . . ." Revelation 15:3 "nations"
instead of "saints." Revelation 17:8 Should
read, " . . . when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and shall
be present . . . ." Revelation
18:17 Should
read, " . . . everyone who sails to any place . . . " instead of
"and all the company in ships." Revelation
18:20 Should
read, " . . . ye holy saints and apostles and prophets." Revelation
19:12 Should
read, " . . . and on his head were many crowns, having names written,
and a name written that no man knew . . . ." Revelation
19:17 Should
read, " . . . gather yourselves together unto the great supper of
God . . . ", not "supper of the great God." Revelation
21:24 Should
read, "And the nations shall walk by means of its light." Revelation
22:19 Should
read, "tree of life" instead of "book of
life." Revelation
22:21 Should
close with "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of the
saints. Amen." Conclusion The King James
Version is a word-for-word translation. Other translations, such as the New
International Version (NIV), are meaning-for- ... In spite of
its imperfections, the King James Version remains a masterpiece. . . . |
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Modified Tuesday, November 02, 2010 Copyright @ 2010 by Fathers' Manifesto & Christian Party |
